For most Maltese people the New Year will be a bad one and this sentiment is mainly the result of the revised water and electricity bills.
It is not only the Maltese who are pessimistic about 2009. In fact, the latest EU-wide Eurobarometer survey indicates that most EU citizens made a gloomy forecast of the next 12 months. However, in Malta's case, confidence nose-dived after the new utility rates were announced.
The survey was conducted in Malta by Misco on a sample of 500 people last October.
"It is clear that the Maltese people are very worried about the electricity and water charges," sources close to Eurobarometer said. "This comes out very clearly from the survey as inflation is the second most worrying subject mentioned by the majority of Maltese respondents. Energy problems were mentioned by 28 per cent, a staggering 10 per cent increase over the same survey conducted a year earlier," the sources said.
About 45 per cent of Maltese respondents said they were expecting the Maltese economy to be worse in 2009 when compared to this year, a 28 per cent increase over the autumn 2007 survey. Nineteen per cent think it will be a better year and this is 21 per cent below last year's response. About 19 per cent said things will remain the same and 17 per cent did not respond.
Asked about how they see their personal household finances doing in the coming year, 30 per cent said they expect to be worse off, up by 16 per cent over October 2007. About 46 per cent said they expect to remain in the same situation as this year and 13 per cent expect to be better off.
The increase in the cost of living is considered to become a big problem. Indeed, 78 per cent said Malta's cost of living is higher than the average in the EU and 77 per cent perceived the new electricity rates as being higher than in the EU.
The survey also confirmed the people's increasing concern about immigration, so much so that the issue topped the list of the most serious problems facing Malta, with 48 per cent mentioning migration, an increase of 19 per cent over autumn 2007.
The overall negative mood also impacted on the public's support of the EU.
The number of respondents stating that EU membership is a good thing for Malta dropped by 14 per cent in a year, with 46 per cent considering EU membership as being positive. On the other hand, 36 per cent preferred to remain neutral over the issue, an increase of 10 per cent, and 14 per cent said it was a bad thing, up two per cent.
On a general EU level, the autumn Eurobarometer shows that the general attitude of citizens towards the EU remained stable and their perception of the economic situation and outlook was dramatically affected by the financial crisis.
More than two-thirds of EU citizens (69 per cent) consider their national economy to be in a bad state. EU citizens have also very pessimistic short-term expectations with more than half believing that the economic situation in their country will worsen over the next 12 months.